Lifting sling



Oct. 2, 1934. A, COURTNEY 1,975,194

LIFTING SLING I I Filed Aug. 29, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet l I V INVENTOR: I WITNESSE55 \M/ 7714a wurtiwfif 94M .5 BY

WW) I I TTbRNEYS.

c 2, 1934- I A. s. COURTNEY 1,975,194

LIFTING SLING Filed Aug. 29, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 WITNESSES: I N VEN TOR:

W WTORNEYS.

Oct. 2, 1934. A..S. COURTNEY 1,975,194

\LIFTING SLING Filed Aug. 29, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 I N V EN TOR: fill/an daurmy, 7

WITNESSES:

TTORNEYS.

ail, inafter, having reference Patented Oct. 2, 1934 N T-ED] PATENT OFFICE I V g 1.1mm SLING Allan 5. Courtney, Fort Wayne, Ind. Application .August29, 1933, Serial No. 687,265 IOClaims. (01.294-6'7) This invnnon'rentes to lifting slings, and

more particularly tolifting slings which. are adapted to be suspended from anoverheadcrane and which.areusefuhforhandlinglrailway ship- 'Ifl ping. ;.containers,., truck bodies or the like.

' With certainitypes .of'lifting'slings heretofore used for: handling ;such.cntainers, the operationsof coupling and uncoupling the slingsto s and from containers have beenxperformed by a man riding on the sling or on the container.

This isadangerous practiceand requires a ladder for the useof the operator.inugetting onand off the containers. With other types of lifting slings the coupling and uncoupling operations 1.5. have been performed by elaborate mechanical or electrical devices whichare of costly manufacture. r

- Accordingly, this invention hasfor its principal object theprovision of a lifting sling whichis extremely simplein itsstructure and of inexpensive: manufacture, and which'is adapted to bekmanipulated-toengage or disengage acontainer by an operator on the ground, thus dis- A pensing with-the need of aman-onthe top of 125; the; container. s v

Other more 5 specific objects and advantages characteristic of this invention willbecome apparent from the; detailed: description. of a preferred *embodiment thereof which follows heredrawings. Of the drawings:

,1; represents asideelevation of a lifting slingv embodying my invention showing the apparatus; carrying a railway shipping container. .35 Fig II;is-,a:fragmentary view. similar. to' Fig; I

but-showing the lifting sling. in position just prior to engaging .the hooks of arailwayfcon section of aportion of the VV '50 Fig-EVIL represents a perspective of another type of pinsimilarly used atthe opposite-side ofthe lifting" sling; I

- fFig'. VIII re'presents -a perspectiveview of one of the' lif-t -eyes of the sling. I

- '-In*the drawings "there is designated at A a to the accompanying conventional form of shipping container with which a lifting'sling of my invention isoperatively associated. The container A has :near the top corners thereof lifting attachments in theform of outwardly directed hooks'B. .Leadingto the bight. of eachrhook B there is-a, smoothly curved surface C which, as hereinafter described, guides each loadengaging member of the lifting sling into looking engagement with aligning pairs of the hooks.

The lifting sling comprises a rectangular frame 1 substantially corresponding in its outline to the shape of the container A with which itiiS' associated. The frame 1 includes longitudinal or end members 2 and transverse or side members 3,.the latter members having; outwardly projecting struts 4'which extend just beyond the sides ofthe container A. Load engaging members or shackles5 in the form of stirrups or coextensive loopsare pivotally suspended from the side membersS and are operated by means of ,control lines 6 which lead from the bars '7 of I the stirrup membersB upwardly and outwardly to the struts 4, and then downwardly alongside of the container'A to within reach of an operator standing on the ground. The frame 1; of the lifting sling is shorter in length than the distancebetween oppositepairs of lifting hooks B sothat under the influence of gravity the stirrup. members or bail-like loops 5 will tend to fall into-engagement with the hooks B. I

While the frame-1 of the lifting sling-may be constructed in many different ways, inthe illustrated example, of my invention the. end members 2as well as the side members 3 are made from pipe stock. The rectangular frame 1 is formed by welding the extremitiesof the end membersp2 to the side members 3. Inthe same manner, the struts 4 are welded to the side members 3 so thatthey extend outwardly from the frame 1 in a horizontal plane. Each strutl l. has asheave 8 mounted on the underside of its outer end, as clearly shown iniFigs. IV and V. I

Into the ends of thetubular side membersB are driven pins 9a, 919, on which the'stirrup members'5, are pivotally mounted for, free swingingmovement. The pivot pins 9a, 9b are :of two typesone type of pin 9a,'used at oneend of the frame 1. beingthreaded intermediate its ends to receive a removable collar in the-form of a nut mas-shown in'FigIV, and the; otheri'type of pin 9bused at the opposite end of the frame-'1 havinga fixed-collar llthereon, as shown in Fig. VII. The pivot pins 9a, 9b are driven into thexends-of the side members-3. as faras; the

collars 10, 11 will permit, and the collars 11 are then welded to the side members 3. Lift eyes 12 formed to fit over the pins 9a, 9b, and constructed in the manner shown in Fig. VIII, are then applied to the pins and welded to their collars 10, 11, as shown. The next operation in assembling the frame 1 is to secure the pivot pins 9a, 9b in place by dowel pins 13 which pass through the side members 3.

Inasmuch as one pair of pivot pins 9a is provided with removable collars 10, the load engaging members 5 may be assembled and disassembled on the frame 1 for replacement or renewal. This is accomplished by removing the dowel pins 13 and unscrewing the pivot pins 911. The perforated ends 21 of the stirrup arms 5 fit over the pins 9a, 9b and are held in place by nuts 22 which take up against washers 23 and shoulders 24 on the pins 9a, 9b giving a working clearance on both sides.

The control lines 6 are fastened at one end to the bars '7 of the stirrup members 5 and they lead upwardly and outwardly through the sheaves 8 and then downward along the side walls of the container A. Each control line 6 has at its free end a ring 25 which serves as a handle for the operator. The control lines 6 are of a length suflicient to hang within reach of an operator standing on the ground when the lifting sling is positioned over a container A. Heavy sash cord is preferably used for the control lines 6, though other flexible wire or rope can be used to equal advantage.

The means for suspending the frame 1 of the lifting sling from an overhead crane preferably comprises four cables 26 which lead upwardly from the lift eyes 12 and converge at a ring 27, or other device by means of which the lifting sling may be attached to the hook of a crane as indicated at D in Fig. I. Preferably the lift eyes 12 of the suspension device are situated ad-- jacent the perforated ends 21 of the stirrup arms 5 so that the load is carried substantially directly to the overhead crane.

The operation of the lifting sling of this invention is as follows. When a container A is in readiness for hoisting, the lifting sling is transferred to a position directly over the same, and lowered by the crane operator to the position shown in Fig. II with incidental engagement of one stirrup member 5 with a pair of aligned lifting hooks B at one side of the container A. During the lowering of the lifting sling, an operator or operators on the ground, manipulating one or both of the control lines 6 assists or assist in guiding the sling to a position square with the container A, and by tugging on one or both of the control lines 6 spreads the stirrup members 5 preparatory to their engagement With the lifting hooks B of the container A. In this manner the sling is caused to come to rest on top of the container with the stirrup members 5 in spread position and with their bars 7 engaging the guide surfaces C on the top of the container A, readily appreciable from the dot-and-dash lines shown at the left-hand side of Fig. II. Accordingly, when the sling is raised to the position shown in Fig. I, the operator or operators on the ground simply slacken or release the control lines 6, for the bars 7 of the stirrup members 5, whereupon said members under the influence of gravity, swing downwardly and inwardly, guided by the surfaces C into engagement with the bights of the hooks B. The container A may then be raised and deposited at a new resting lines 6, it is possible to perform all of the coupling and upcoupling operations with a single operator on the ground when handling smaller-sized containers.

While the invention has been described with reference to one particular example or embodiment thereof, it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form of the apparatus herein disclosed and that many such changes are within the contemplation of the invention and do not constitute a departure from the spirit of the invention as defined in the annexed claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A lifting sling for containers of the character described including a frame of paralleling members, load engaging stirrups pivotally sus-' pended from and coextensive with an opposing pair of the frame members, struts extending outwardly from said pair of the frame members beyond the pivotal axes of said load engaging stirrups, and control lines attached to said stirrups, each control line leading upwardly from a stirrup to the adjacent strut and downwardly to within reach of an operator.

2. A lifting sling for containers of the character described including a frame of side and end members, load engaging stirrups pivotally suspended from and coextensive with the side members of the frame, struts extending outwardly from the side members of the frame beyond the pivotal axes of said stirrups and between the ends of said stirrups, and control lines attached to said stirrups, each control line leading upwardly from a stirrup to the adjacent strut and downwardly to within reach of an operator.

3. A lifting sling for containers of the character described comprising a rectangular frame of side and end members, load engaging stirruplike loops coextensive with and pivotally attached to each of the frame side members and hanging downwardly therefrom, suspension means for connecting said frame to an overhead hoist including members leading to the corners of the frame and connected thereto adjacent the points of pivotal attachment of the stirrup-like loops, struts extending outwardly from the side members of the frame, and control lines attached to said stirrup-like loops, each control line leading upwardly from a loop to the adjacent strut and downwardly to within reach of an operator.

4*. In combination with a container having lifting attachments near the top corners thereof, a lifting sling including a frame of side and end members, said frame being of less length than the distance between opposite pairs of lifting attachments, coextensive stirrup loops pivotally suspended from each side member of the frame and adapted to engage aligned pairs of the container lifting attachments, struts extending outwardly from the side members of said frame beyond the roof of said container, and control lines attached to said stirrup loops, each control, line leading upwardly from a stirrup loop to the adjacent strut and downwardly alongside of the container.

5. In combination with a container having outwardly directed lifting hooks near the top corners thereof, a lifting sling including a frame of side and end members, said frame being of less length than the distance between opposite pairs of said lifting hooks, a coextensive stirrup pivotally suspended from each side member of the frame and each adapted to engage a pair of aligned lifting hooks, struts extending outwardly from the sides of said frame beyond the roof of said container, and control lines attached to said stirrups, each control line leading upwardly from a stirrup to the adjacent strut and downwardly alongside of the container.

6. In combination with a container having outwardly directed lifting hooks near the top corners thereof and guide surfaces adjacent said lifting hooks, a lifting sling including a rectangular frame of side and end members, a coextensive stirrup pivotally suspended from each side member of the frame and each including a bar portion adapted to swing along the guide surfaces into a pair of the lifting hooks of the container, struts extending outwardly from the sides of said frame beyond the roof of said container, and control lines attached to the stirrups, each control line leading upwardly from the bar portion of a stirrup to the adjacent strut and downwardly alongside of the container.

'7. A lifting sling, for containers having outwardly directed hooks at the top corners with guide surfaces merging into the bights thereof. comprising a rigid rectangular frame of pipe stock side and end components, pivot pins secured in the open ends of the frame side components, coextensive stirrups swingably mounted on the free ends of the pivot pins, a strut projecting outwardly from each of the frame side individual control line secured at one end to each of the stirrups and extending upwardly and outwardly over the adjacent sheave and downwardly to a point within easy access of an operator on the ground.

8. A lifting sling, for containers having outwardly directed hooks at the top corners with guide surfaces merging into the bights thereof, comprising a rigid rectangular frame of pipe stock side and end components, with the side components extending beyond the end compo nents, shouldered pivot pins secured in the open ends of the side components, coextensive substantially rectangular stirrups swingably mounted on the free ends of the pivot pins with interposition of lift eyes, suspension means attached to the said lift eyes, a strut projecting outwardly from each of the frame side components and having a sheave mounted on the underside of its outer end, and an individual control line secured at one end of the load engaging portion of the stirrup extending upwardly and outwardly over the adjacent sheave and downwardly to a point within easy reach of an operator on the ground.

9. The combination of claim 8 wherein the pivot pins at one end of the frame side components are provided with fixed collars and those at the other end of said components are intermediately screw-threaded to receive removable collars, whereby the stirrups may be readily assembled and disassembled for replacement or renewal.

10. The combination of claim 8 wherein the pivot pins at one end of the frame side components are provided with fixed collars and those at the other end of said components are intermediately screw-threaded to receive removable collars, whereby the stirrups may be readily assembled and disassembled for replacement or renewal, and each of said pivot pins is formed with a shouldered outer extension for the reception of appropriate stirrup retaining means.

ALLAN S. COURTNEY. 

